Bed-knob and Broomstick

by John Bellairs

Like Norton's children, Lewis and Rose Rita stumble into a magical world hidden just beneath the surface of everyday life, but Bellairs leans into genuine creepiness alongside the wonder—there's real menace in his magic that makes the adventure feel genuinely dangerous. The pacing mirrors Norton's episodic structure, where each chapter brings a new discovery that deepens the mystery rather than resolving it neatly.

by Robin McKinley

McKinley gives you that same sense of a young person suddenly discovering they belong to a world of magic and possibility, but she takes it further—Harry must actively learn and grow into her power rather than having it handed to her. The adventure spans a broader landscape and higher stakes than Bed-knob and Broomstick, but maintains that same thread of a young person becoming extraordinary through circumstance and choice.

by Clifford D. Simak

Here's your surprise pick—it's science fiction, not fantasy, but Simak writes it with the same whimsical, matter-of-fact tone Norton uses. A man wakes up in a future where goblins, elves, and other mythological creatures have been preserved on a reservation, and he navigates this absurd world with the same bemused practicality that Miss Price brings to witch-training. The humor comes from treating impossible situations as perfectly ordinary.

by Norton Juster

Both books use magical transportation as a gateway to adventure—Milo's tollbooth works much like Paul's bedknob—but Juster fills his world with wordplay and conceptual puzzles that reward a clever reader. Where Norton focuses on the thrill of travel and discovery, Juster makes the journey itself a kind of education, though both maintain that same sense of wonder about what's possible when you step outside the ordinary.

by Alan Garner

Garner takes the template of children discovering something magical in their world and makes it genuinely unsettling—there's a curse woven through the narrative that echoes across time. Like Norton, he trusts his young readers to piece together what's happening gradually, but his magic carries weight and consequence in ways that give the adventure a darker, more literary texture while keeping that same sense of discovery.